As announced, Russia further restricted gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Wednesday morning. According to the German network operator Gascade, 1.28 million cubic meters per hour have been flowing through the pipes since 8 a.m. and thus only 20 percent of the capacity.
The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, said on Deutschlandfunk that “we are currently seeing the nominated throttling”. Gazprom is supplying 20 percent of the capacity. “We’ll see over the course of the day whether it stays that way,” Müller continued.
The president of the network agency praised the first “successful savings”. Private households and industry consume “five, six, seven percent less gas, even adjusted for temperature”. Now in the summer it is possible to store gas.
“The situation changes in autumn, gas consumption increases,” warned Müller. Therefore, all austerity efforts are necessary. “Germany must use less gas.”
Something must now be done in all areas of society, be it technical innovation or diversification of energy sources. “But the key thing is saving gas. And I’d like to hear less complaints, so to speak, but more reports where someone says we as an industry, we as a city, we as a region are helping to save gas.” At the same time, consumers would have to adjust to higher energy prices, said Müller. “It’s a price development on announcement.”
The head of the network agency criticized that gas is now part of Russian foreign policy, the Russian war strategy.
Gazprom announced on Monday evening that it would reduce gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 from the current 40 percent to just 20 percent of capacity from Wednesday morning. The reason given by the group was the maintenance of a turbine. The federal government reacted with incomprehension.
Meanwhile, according to the pipeline operator Eugas, Gazprom booked significantly more capacity on the Transgas pipeline through Slovakia on Wednesday than in the past few days. In the Slovakian border town of Velké Kapusany, the starting point of the Slovakian section, the transmission of 68.6 million cubic meters of gas was announced.
